What’s your favorite exercise for building upper body strength? For many, it’s the biceps curl. Biceps curls are a staple exercise for building biceps strength and making your biceps pop when you flex your arm. However, sticking to the same angle and tempo every time you perform this biceps blasting exercise can lead to a plateau in your progress. Not to mention, you need variety in your biceps workout to continue to challenge yourself and make progress. Fortunately, you have lots of options for powering up your biceps workout.
Are you ready to jumpstart your biceps training? Here are some ways to take your biceps curls to the next level and reap greater benefits.
Switch the Barbells for Dumbbells and Resistance Bands
When you use a barbell to perform curls, you restrict the movement to a single path. Dumbbells, barbells, and resistance bands offer different paths of motion for your biceps. With barbells, you can only follow one path, while with resistance bands and dumbbells you can change the angle of your arm placement. But did you know you can combine dumbbells and resistance bands for a challenging variation on the curl? They’re called banded dumbbells.
To perform banded dumbbells, place a looped resistance band on the floor and stand on it. Attach the loop of the resistance band to the inside of each dumbbell you’ll be using for the curls. Hold the dumbbells with the loops, one in each hand, with your palms facing up. Proceed to curl the looped dumbbells, feeling the burn as you work your biceps.
Emphasize the Lengthening Phase of the Curl
Another approach to shaking up your curl routine for greater gains is to stress the lengthening phase of the exercise when you lower the barbell or dumbbell. Emphasizing the lengthening phase of a biceps curl is called eccentric training.
During a muscle contraction, there are two phases: the concentric portion, where the muscle shortens, and the eccentric portion, where the muscle lengthens. The eccentric phase of an exercise involves lowering the weight or lengthening the muscle against resistance.
Eccentric curls are a technique that maximizes the tension on your mighty muscle fibers. Because you generate a significant amount of muscle tension during the eccentric phase of the contraction (and more muscle damage), this approach can jumpstart biceps muscle growth.
If you train with someone, you can use this technique to power up the eccentric phase of a curl. Use a heavier weight than you’re accustomed to and have your partner lift the weight during the concentric phase when you curl it up. But during the eccentric phase, let gravity be your guide. Lower that load with absolute control, feeling the burn and intensity intensify with each passing second. This eccentric overload is a way to challenge your biceps and stimulate tremendous muscle growth.
If you don’t have someone to help you, you can get similar benefits by slowing down the tempo of your curls. If you typically lower the weight in two seconds, try extending it to four or five seconds and concentrate on the muscle as you lower the weight.
By prolonging the eccentric phase, you keep the muscle under tension for a longer duration, stimulating maximum muscle growth. For an even more intense approach, you can explore super-slow training, where the eccentric phase lasts for 10 seconds or longer. But be more conservative in the beginning with a 4 or 5 second eccentric phase.
Isolate Your Biceps with Preacher Curls
Another way to jumpstart your biceps gains is to isolate your biceps muscle when you curl. One way to do this is with preacher curls. When you do preacher curls you target your biceps with greater precision and maximize the range of motion of each curl. But be careful when you do this biceps variation.
To lower your risk of injury, use a lighter weight initially than what you use for a standard biceps curl. Using more weight than you can handle increases the risk of tearing a biceps tendon. Excessive weight also places more stress on your elbows and can trigger elbow tendonitis. Also, avoid using momentum, arching your back, or letting your shoulders do the work your biceps should be doing. The purpose is to maximize the work your biceps do.
Maximize Muscle Activation with EZ Bar Curls
A 2018 study found that EZ bar curls offered some advantages over standard biceps curls. In a nutshell, the study found that using an undulated bar (EZ bar) in your curls leads to higher muscle activation in the biceps brachii and brachioradialis muscles compared to using a straight bar (BC) or dumbbells (DC).
Furthermore, the range of motion was greater when using a barbell compared to dumbbells. When it comes to muscle activation during different phases of the exercise, the concentric phase (lifting phase) resulted in higher activation of the brachioradialis muscle in the EZ and BC variations compared to dumbbell curls. On the other hand, the eccentric phase (lowering phase) led to higher activation of the biceps brachii muscle in the EZ and BC variations compared to dumbbell curls.
Add a Twist to Your Curls
Get ready to add a twist to your curls! By pronating and supinating your forearms during the exercise, you can unlock a whole new level of biceps muscle activation. The trick is to use dumbbells instead of a barbell, as the latter limits your forearm rotation. Grab a pair of lighter dumbbells, ideally around 70 to 80% of your one-rep max, to ensure you maintain proper form and control throughout the movement. Prepare to feel the burn and watch those biceps gains skyrocket!
Here are some guidelines:
- Choose lighter dumbbells, around 70 to 80% of your one-rep max, to maintain proper form and control.
- Hold the dumbbells by your sides with your palms facing toward you.
- Slowly curl the dumbbells while twisting your forearms outward, so that your palms face up at the top of the movement.
- Reverse the twist as you lower the weights back down to the starting position.
- You can perform this variation while seated or standing, aiming for three sets.
Also. research shows that simply varying the hand grip – supinated vs pronated can affect mechanical and neural stimulation and jump start gains.
Conclusion
By incorporating these innovative techniques and variations into your biceps curls, you can jumpstart your training and unlock greater strength gains. Don’t settle for a stagnant routine—embrace the challenge, activate your muscles from different angles, and watch your biceps grow stronger and more defined than ever before. Get ready to flex with confidence and showcase the results of your revamped biceps curls.
References:
- Giuseppe Marcolin. Differences in electromyographic activity of biceps brachii and brachioradialis while performing three variants of curl. (2023). Retrieved 3 June 2023, from https://peerj.com/articles/5165/
- Biceps Brachii and Brachioradialis Excitation in Biceps Curl Exercise: Different Handgrips, Different Synergy. (2023). Retrieved 3 June 2023, from https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4663/11/3/64
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